SIR MARK ELDER has been Music Director of the Hallé since September 2000, during which time the orchestra's considerable achievements have been recognised in awards, an enhanced international profile, and popular and critical acclaim.

He appears regularly with many of the world's leading symphony orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony and Munich Philharmonic. In the UK he enjoys close associations with both the London Philharmonic and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and last year returned to the London Symphony Orchestra. Sir Mark has appeared annually at the BBC Proms for many years, including, in 1987 and 2006, at the globally televised Last Night of the Proms and, from 2003, in concerts with the Hallé. He was Music Director of English National Opera (1979-93), Principal Guest Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1992-95) and Music Director of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in the USA (1989-94), and has also held positions as Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and of the London Mozart Players.

His work in opera frequently takes him to the world's major houses and during his years at ENO he brought acclaim to the company for its work in London, as well as leading tours to the USA (including the Metropolitan Opera, New York) and Russia (including the Bolshoi in Moscow and the Mariinsky in St. Petersburg). Last September and October Sir Mark conducted the Hallé in Brazil, Chile and Argentina and, on a separate tour, Germany and Austria. A long-distance trip in mid-December took him to the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the China Philharmonic, including a performance in the Forbidden City.

He has made recordings with a range of orchestras including, since 2003, a series of highly praised releases on the Hallé's own CD label in repertoire including music by Elgar, Richard Strauss, Debussy, Colin Matthews, Nielsen and Wagner. His most recent releases, as the Hallé's CD label is relaunched, are The Dream of Gerontius and works by Colin Matthews.

Forthcoming engagements, apart from his commitment to the Hallé, include the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Earlier this year he appeared at London's Wigmore Hall and he conducted a concert with the LPO at the Royal Festival Hall on 24 January.

He recently conducted Elektra at the Royal Opera House and will return there in February for Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi. In April, following the run of the Bellini at Covent Garden, Sir Mark travels to Moscow where he makes his debut with the Russian National Orchestra in Mahler's Sixth Symphony and to Amsterdam to conduct the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest Holland. A Spanish tour with the Hallé comes in late May, with Mendelssohn dominating the proceedings, and Sir Mark Elder finishes his 2008-09 season with the Chicago Symphony in a three-week festival devoted to Dvorák.

This summer he conducts Szymanowski's King Roger, in a production by David Pountney, at the Bregenz Festival. A highlight of the Hallé season in Manchester takes place on 9 and 10 May when Sir Mark conducts Wagner's Götterdämmerung featuring Ben Heppner as Siegfried and Katarina Dalayman as Brünnhilde.

Sir Mark Elder was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours List 2008, and was awarded the CBE in 1989. He won an Olivier Award in 1991 for his outstanding work at ENO and in 2006 he was named Conductor of the Year by the Royal Philharmonic Society.